Overnight shooting in Aurora leaves 2 dead, 1 injured

Police were investigating after a man was shot and killed at a home on Lima Street in Aurora, November 25, 2013. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

AURORA — Two men were fatally shot and a woman was wounded in an early morning incident Tuesday just south of East Colfax Avenue.

A suspect was arrested in Denver later Tuesday and is now in custody. He was arrested with the assistance of Denver Police at East 33rd Avenue and Jasmine Street.

The Denver police K9 unit had to be deployed and the suspect suffered injuries as he fled, police said.

Sgt. Cassidee Carlson, a spokeswoman for the Aurora Police Department, said authorities received at 2:45 a.m. reports of multiple shots fired in the 1400 block of Lima Street.

In an afternoon news conference, investigators said they now believe that the resident of the Lima Street home and his female guest were in the front room of the home when two men arrived.

Police were investigating after a man was shot and killed at a home on Lima Street in Aurora, November 25, 2013. Two other people were injured in the shooting.
(RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

It is unclear if the suspects forced their way into the residence, but Carlson said all parties involved knew each other .

A struggle ensued inside the house in which one of the suspects was fatally shot.

The male resident ran out of the house, police said, but was shot by the second suspect who then returned inside the house. The suspect took the keys to the resident's Cadillac and fled.

The resident collapsed in the alley and died later Tuesday in a hospital.

The woman was wounded during the altercation, police said.

A woman is expected to survive, Carlson said.

All four people have extensive criminal records, and multiple calls for service have been made to the area, Carlson said.

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The area is a mix of businesses that line East Colfax Avenue, giving way to small homes and multi-unit residences to the south.

The names of those involved were not released.

A neighbor, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal, said he was sleeping when awakened by gunfire.

"I thought it was just a nightmare," he said.

The neighbor went outside to investigate and was near the home where the incident happened when the front door flew open and one of the victims, a man, bolted out and staggered to an alley where he collapsed.

The neighbor's wife, who also asked to remain anonymous, said she called 911 for help.

The couple says there is a lot of foot traffic around the one-bedroom unit where the shootings occurred.

"There's a lot of people in and out — in the front door, and out the back door," the female neighbor said.

The couple described the man who lives at the home as "quiet and reserved" but the block as a troubled spot, with frequent crime.

"We have a lot of things going on here," the male neighbor said.

The couple said they're unaware of why, or how the shootings unfolded.

"I don't know what happened," the man said.

The block was cordoned off with police tape while investigators worked the scene, and the door to the home where the incident happened remained open. Traffic was shut down along Lima Street, between Colfax and 14th avenues.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Det. Mike Prince at 303 739-6127; or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720 913-STOP (7867).

Crime stopper tips, which can be made anonymously, can also be submitted by text to: 274637 (CRIMES) then title DMCS and enter a message. A cash reward for tips is possible.

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